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Saturday 1 November 2025
China’s rare earth squeeze reaches a turning point in the global tech standoff
Rare earth elements (REEs), comprising 17 chemical elements including the 15 lanthanides from lanthanum (La, atomic number 57) to lutetium (Lu, 71), plus scandium and yttrium, are essential materials with unique optical, electrical, magnetic, and catalytic properties. Often called "industrial vitamins" or "industrial gold," REEs are indispensable in many high-tech industries
Friday 31 October 2025
Why SK Hynix skipped the fried chicken and beer summit

When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang arrived in South Korea, global attention turned to a viral "chimaek" (fried chicken and beer) dinner on October 30 featuring Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Executive Chair Chung Eui-sun. Yet, the spotlight shifted the following day to SK Group—and particularly its memory arm, SK Hynix, which co-headlined a landmark AI infrastructure deal that analysts have called a strategic win

Friday 31 October 2025
Samsung Electro-Mechanics posts strong 3Q25 results, eyes double-digit MLCC growth in 2026
Samsung Electro-Mechanics has reported robust financial results for the third quarter of 2025 and projects sustained strong demand for multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) in 2026, driven by AI servers and automotive electronics. The company aims to achieve double-digit growth next year
Friday 31 October 2025
Nvidia's Jensen Huang commits quarter-million AI chips to push South Korea's AI frontier
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang capped his week in Seoul with a sweeping series of agreements that could redefine South Korea's role in the global AI economy
Friday 31 October 2025
50,000 Nvidia GPUs power Samsung's dawn of AI-manufacturing
Nvidia and Samsung Electronics have announced plans for an "AI Factory," a next-generation semiconductor manufacturing hub powered by over 50,000 Nvidia GPUs. The initiative marks a major leap in their 25-year partnership, evolving from memory supply and GPU collaboration into AI-driven chip production. Announced at the APEC Summit, the project embodies what Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called "the dawn of the AI industrial revolution," where accelerated computing and semiconductor fabrication merge into one ecosystem
Friday 31 October 2025
Column: How Taiwan recyclers gain from China's rare earth curbs?
China's expanded rare earth export controls, now including semiconductors, heighten global strategic risks while offering Taiwan's firms a chance to boost sustainable material recovery technologies
Friday 31 October 2025
China's CXMT cracks LPDDR5X speed barrier, posing a new test for Samsung and SK Hynix

Chinese memory maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has started mass production of LPDDR5X DRAM, marking a milestone in China's high-performance memory development. The company said its latest LPDDR5X modules reach speeds of 10,667Mbps, matching SK Hynix's premium chips launched in October 2024. This achievement marks China's first successful mass production at this performance tier and signals its growing self-reliance in advanced semiconductor memory manufacturing

Friday 31 October 2025
AMD ties pay off: Tongfu Microelectronics reaps AI-driven profit surge
Tongfu Microelectronics, a leading Chinese semiconductor packaging and testing firm, posted record revenue and profit in the third quarter of 2025. Revenue for the first three quarters reached CNY20.116 billion (approx. US$2.83 billion), with net profit attributable to the parent company at CNY860 million. Third-quarter net profit rose 95% year-over-year, signaling a strong rebound in market demand
Friday 31 October 2025
What US-China trade breakthrough was reached in Busan?
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in South Korea on October 30, 2025, to announce a trade agreement that paused months of escalating tensions between the two countries. The nearly two-hour meeting in Busan formalized a framework addressing tariffs, rare earth exports, and other key issues. Both leaders expressed cautious optimism about the future of economic relations
Friday 31 October 2025
US Senate votes against Trump's global reciprocal tariffs amid party division
The US Senate voted 51-47 against President Donald Trump's use of emergency powers to impose global reciprocal tariffs, exposing rare dissent within the Republican Party. Four Republican senators joined Democrats in opposing the tariff policy, as reported by Bloomberg, The Hill, and NPR
Friday 31 October 2025
BYD profit plunges 33% as China EV price war squeezes margins

BYD reported a sharp 33% decline in third-quarter profit, highlighting the growing toll of China's intensifying electric-vehicle price war and renewed investor caution over the company's sales outlook

Friday 31 October 2025
Trump-Xi Busan deal pauses G2 trade war, but doubts linger
In April 2025, US President Donald Trump escalated the trade conflict with China by threatening tariffs as high as 145%, prompting a fierce response from Beijing, vowing to fight to the end. Following a rare direct meeting in Busan, South Korea, the two leaders reached a tentative agreement that could signal a pause in the hostilities, though doubts remain over its durability
Friday 31 October 2025
UMC and Samsung present advanced packaging trends at APDC 2025
STATS ChipPAC held the Advanced Packaging Developer Conference 2025 (APDC 2025) at Resorts World Sentosa Convention Center in Singapore to explore the future of semiconductor packaging. The forum invited experts from academia and industry, presenting many of STATS ChipPAC's blueprints for advanced packaging and testing technologies
Friday 31 October 2025
Commentary: Trump-Xi meeting leaves core tech conflicts unresolved
After months of speculation, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on October 30, 2025, at South Korea's Gimhae Air Base in Busan. As many analysts predicted, the two leaders steered clear of the Taiwan question and instead focused on easing specific trade frictions, including restrictions on US soybean exports to China and Chinese rare earth shipments to the United States
Friday 31 October 2025
China's high-end lithography imports shrink, unit prices soar
As the United States further tightens export controls on advanced semiconductor tools to China, customs data is revealing how the industry is adjusting. China's semiconductor equipment imports are shifting toward a "fewer but higher-end" strategy, with lithography tool volumes declining even as prices surge. The trend marks a calculated move toward selective, high-value procurement and greater technological control